VVAW Statement to the People of Vietnam

By VVAW National Office

As we approach the thirtieth anniversary of the end of the US war
against Vietnam, we in Vietnam Veterans Against the War wish to send
greetings and best wishes to the people of Vietnam. We celebrate with
you the success of your struggle for liberation from foreign domination.

On April 30, 1975, the effort on the part of successive US governments
to deny Vietnam national independence and reunification came to an end.
Thirty years later, we who served in the US armed forces during that war
remember all the fallen on all sides, the millions of Vietnamese, the
tens of thousands of Americans and soldiers from other countries, all of
whom were victims of an illegal and immoral war.

We recognize the progress made by both the American and Vietnamese
governments toward reconciliation between our countries, and we welcome
the spirit of friendship and cooperation that has grown between the
people of our countries.

We stand with you in your struggle to get recognition, compensation and
treatment for the poisonous effects of the use of herbicides such as
Agent Orange against your population during the US war. The chemicals
that continue to damage the land of Vietnam and its people are familiar
to US veterans, because we brought them home in our own bodies.

We veterans have also been fighting for treatment and compensation here
in the United States for decades, and many have died in the midst of the
fight. Therefore, on this thirtieth anniversary of the end of the
American war against Vietnam, we call upon our government to compensate
the millions of Vietnamese who continue to suffer the effects of the US
policy of chemical warfare.